The guys from Crud Products got back to me. They don't have another length of strut available. They are sending me a second set free of charge so I can cut-and-splice to sets into one long one. I'll see how that works.

Well, the Sweet Wings cranks are now off the bike forever. And I have had my first bit of damage, though luckily, it is mainly cosmetic.

Out for a pleasant ride and the cranks started getting loose again. I snugged them up only to feel them coming loose a few miles later. The loctite appeared to not be working. A little further on though and I began to hear/feel some rubbing. At first I thought it was just the front derailleur rubbing the chainrings. But off the bike I couldn't see it rubbing and didn't hear it as I rotated the cranks. Then I thought, perhaps, the bottom bracket bearings had failed. I managed to get home but the rubbing had turned to grinding in the last mile and I just couldn't see from the saddle what the issue was. When I got home I discovered the inner chain ring had been grinding against the chainstay... right through the powdercoat and down to bare metal. And now I see the folly of the Sweet Wings cranks.

There is no retention mechanism for the bearings in the bearing cups. Each time the cranks came loose, I tightened them up slightly more. What I was actually doing was pressing the bearing right out of the cup. This drew the driveside crankarm into the bottom bracket and allowed the chainring to contact the frame.

So the Sweet Wings cranks are out and, for now, a set of FSA SLK cranks are installed. A modern Mega Exo bottom bracket has been installed with all the proper spacers. So, while I bit heavier than the original build, it will be more reliable. And, to be honest, the UD carbon cranks look pretty good on the bike.

Well, the Sweet Wings cranks are now off the bike forever. And I have had my first bit of damage, though luckily, it is mainly cosmetic.

Out for a pleasant ride and the cranks started getting loose again. I snugged them up only to feel them coming loose a few miles later. The loctite appeared to not be working. A little further on though and I began to hear/feel some rubbing. At first I thought it was just the front derailleur rubbing the chainrings. But off the bike I couldn't see it rubbing and didn't hear it as I rotated the cranks. Then I thought, perhaps, the bottom bracket bearings had failed. I managed to get home but the rubbing had turned to grinding in the last mile and I just couldn't see from the saddle what the issue was. When I got home I discovered the inner chain ring had been grinding against the chainstay... right through the powdercoat and down to bare metal. And now I see the folly of the Sweet Wings cranks.

There is no retention mechanism for the bearings in the bearing cups. Each time the cranks came loose, I tightened them up slightly more. What I was actually doing was pressing the bearing right out of the cup. This drew the driveside crankarm into the bottom bracket and allowed the chainring to contact the frame.

So the Sweet Wings cranks are out and, for now, a set of FSA SLK cranks are installed. A modern Mega Exo bottom bracket has been installed with all the proper spacers. So, while I bit heavier than the original build, it will be more reliable. And, to be honest, the UD carbon cranks look pretty good on the bike.

I really wanted to love the Sweet Wings cranks. *sigh*

Yes, I was a ex-sweet wing MTB crankset user, the mean bolt loose every other month.But the worst thing is the design of BB! the left side bearing can easily pop out to left side, well.....but the right side bearing did the same - pop into the frame serevel times! Maintenance time again.

Apparently there was an improved bottom bracket available with a c-clip inside to hold the bearing in place. If I can get my hands on one I may give these cranks another try. But for now they are in my parts box.

From memory I think because the Sweet Wings use relatively standard cartridge bearings and the cups look like the fairly modern outboard type I wonder if you could utilise something like a Shimano or similar outboard bracket, I'd imagine the sweet wings axle is 24mm dia, you'd only have to play with the width maybe having to add a spacer or the like?

The non-drive side is essentially an outboard, but the drive side is more akin to an older, internal cartridge bottom bracket. It's almost a hybrid of the two. The spacing will not work out with an external bottom bracket and the drive side spider will simply rub on the cup.

Rob was right in recommending against chrome. It is virtually impossible to find anyone who can do good chrome in the US any more. I had my Rene Herse chromed, and the entire process had to be repeated twice to get a good finish, although it looks pretty good now, there are still some imperfections that are annoying.

The amount of labor that goes into a good chrome job is also ridiculous...the entire frame needs to be polished to perfection prior to the chroming process.

Your bike is still awesome. In fact, I was planning on putting it up on my blog tomorrow

Plus his carbon fiber headtube insert seems for show only. As for the larger BB, I doubt you would feel a difference, and you will be creak-free I stuck with 68mm English BB on my current and upcoming Tsunami frames and have no regrets.

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